Scotland Adventures: Glen Coe

If there was one place in Scotland I would choose to go back to again and again, it would be the mysterious and iconic Glen Coe. This valley is surrounded by some of the most spectacular mountains and has a long and bloody history. Driving through on our way to Fort William we had seen it bathed in the most beautiful golden light but when we went back a few days later to explore, it was moody and menacing and I fell completely in love. 

The rain was falling hard as we set off down into the valley beneath the iconic Bidean Nam Bian mountain, looking up at the Three Sisters looming above I was excited to see mist and cloud skittering across the top. As a lover of moody mountains, it felt like the perfect day to explore, so off we set up the rocky track. It is a fairly easy track but rocky underfoot and when going up in wet and windy conditions it can be a little slippy.

The views however, even on a grey day are stunning and we took lots of opportunities to stop and soak up the isolated feeling. As with so many of our wet walks, there was no one else around which suited us perfectly. It’s quite eerie hiking up in those sorts of conditions and I sat down at one point and just soaked it all in whilst looking up at Gearr Aonach towering over me. There’s nothing like a mountain to make you feel small.

Earlier on that day, we had parked up in brilliant sunshine and rambled to the breathtakingly beautiful Loch Achtriochtan, this loch is surrounded by imposing mountains and the light was perfect to stop and take some photos. The scent of heather filled the air and we felt like the luckiest people on earth with the most spectacular view.

Nearing the ridge between the Three Sister’s the wind was stronger and the rain heavier, the cloud was thick and low above us and we made the sad decision to turn around. We felt as if we had been witness to the wilderness of Scotland and we took it slow heading back down as neither of us wanted to leave. Back in the car, we kept the doors open with the stunning view in front of us and sipped hot coffee from our flask before driving back to the campsite.

That day relighted my love for the mountains and I am counting down the days until I can go back and explore them some more. Exploring more of Glen Coe and it’s beautiful mountains is definitely top of my list.